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All three of my kids ended up in bed with me last night. My two-year-old coughed till his thick yellow phlegm made him gag, my 4 year old just “didn’t feel good,” and my 6 year old was running a 102.7. It hit them all like a ton of very nasty bricks.

They’ve been fighting allergies for awhile, but the fever made it obvious that this was just a bit more than allergies.

This morning we all headed to the pediatrician’s office after a humorous phone call that actually had the receptionist laughing.

Me: Do you have an appointment for three sick kids this morning?

Her: How about this afternoon at 1:00?

Me: Assuming I can actually get my son to sleep, he’ll be napping at 1:00, and considering the all-nighter we just pulled… I am assuming he will take a nap for me. Any way we can do this morning?

Her: Can you do 9:30?

Me: I can.

Her: And your name?

Me: (Fill in name here.)

Her: (Insert laughter here.)

Me: Why are you laughing?

Her: Does he have a ball up his nose?

Ok, let me explain. I said yesterday that a lot has happened lately, and this is just one of those many stories. Last weekend, my 4 year old decided that he would hide a small bead from his 2 year old brother. And where is the most logical place for a young man to stick said ball? You guessed it! Straight up his nostril. And for a booger (pun intended) who does not know how to blow his nose… that was an adventure!

Now back to today’s episode.

So I end up back at today’s appointment and the pediatrician takes one look at my daughter’s throat and immediately predicts (like I had) that she has strep. As he swabs her she coughs and droplets land straight in his eye. After a good eye cleaning, we both see that the swab is completely yellow. Not a good sign. He sends it off for the “quick test” and he proceeds to my boys.

The youngest has an obvious ear infection, and the older son has so much wax in his ear that the doctor cannot tell if there is an infection or not. Both boys have red throats. He went to retrieve the results for the throat swab and they are NEGATIVE.

The conclusion: three cases of tonsilitis and two ear infections. The swab will be kept overnight and all three will be treated for strep if that comes back positive. Until then, lots of snuggles, ice cream, and movies on the couch.

And how was YOUR morning?

My theory for the day: If you plaster a smile on your face long enough, your heart and mind will try to catch up. If you keep frowning, you don’t give them a fighting chance. So I choose to smile, and I choose to keep that smile afloat with lots and lots of very strong coffee.

It has been crazy around here lately… sorry. I have been concentrating so much on my Examiner page, my family, and my book that I have not been keeping up with my blog. I’m back though, and I will try to pick back up with my 2-5 posts a week.

So much has happened lately. It is like this little light bulb atop my head finally found some voltage. I have so much to share and tell and talk about. Until then, just wanted you to know that I am still alive, kickin’, and laughing.

My daughter’s 6th birthday party turned out way better than I would have imagined. A classmate showed up with her mom and we had several family members and family friends in attendance as well. The pinata, cake, and sidewalk chalk were all hits.

But the real fun began a good eight hours after the party when my two year old started vomiting. Having been through several stomach bugs with the three kids, my heart immediately sank. He had three runs to the toilet over the next hour, and then we both fell asleep on the floor.

There was no stirrings from either of the other two kiddos, so I had a glimmer of hope that perhaps this was something other than the beginnings of a nasty week of vomit and diarrhea all over my carpet..

They all woke up ready to eat and play when the sun came up, and we did. I called my mother who attended the party and she laughed. The conversation went something like this.

Mom: We talked about that on the way home yesterday. We wondered how he could eat so much and NOT get sick.

Me: What do you mean? What did he eat?

Mom: I found him on the floor with a stack of empty candy wrappers next to him after the pinata. Dad took the Triscuit box away from him, and your brother caught him in the corner with the Cheetohs. He had birthday cake too.

I emailed several attendees to verify there were no other sick kids out there, and now I am pretty certain this is not another bug.

I guess some kids have to learn the hard way… even a 2-year-old tummy cannot consume everything it wants. It may taste great going down, but when the porcelein thrown calls at midnight, it will not taste NEAR as good coming back up.

My oldest just turned 6 over the Easter break. Because of the awkward timing, we chose to put off the party till this weekend. Though only half of the invited guests actually RSVPed, it still looked like we would have about 30 people. Not too shabby.

That is of course until the phone starting ringing.

Friend A has an unexpected T-Ball makeup game, Friend B is having nasty asthma issues, and Friend C has relatives coming in.

Now we have an overstuffed pinata, large princess birthday cake, and lots of decorations for a not-quite-so-large party.

The great thing about kids though is they don’t care and they don’t count the attendees. It is us moms that stress and fret over such things. We want our kids to be loved, admired, and popular. We want them to be one step higher on the social ladder than we were at their age. (In my case I never found the first step on the social ladder, so that should not be too difficult to beat for a cute little cheerleader-in-training.)

I had to remind myself today that the lack of attendance has nothing to do with who my daughter is, what she does or does not do, or how popular she is among her peers. Sometimes things just come up.

I am trying to get back on track with blogging. I know I have not been here in awhile, but a few good kicks in the tail have moved me back on track. I will do my best to update about my 6 year old’s princess party in a couple of days. Until then remember…

Keep laughing, smiling, and nodding. The kids are still young enough that they think you are listening.

Our Christmas tree looks like a child’s active imagination exploded with delight. There is no organization, no breakables, no no-nos and no priceless keepsakes. It is just covered with random kidness.

And I love it.

A string of Yoda lights is circled around itself on one corner of the tree, and snowflakes are taped on the walls throughout the house. Personalized stockings are hung from the mantel, and we have a huge blowup carousel in our front yard.

It is a truly a winter wonderland around here… other than the fact that it should be 70 degrees today.

My youngest was so excited this morning that he wanted to start our day at 4:45. I successfully put him off till 5:20, but that was still a bit early for my taste. I was rewarded well for my submission though as I got to hold him, rock him, and love on him for a full 90 minutes before his siblings came bouncing down the stairs. Though exhausted, I know such opportunities do not show themselves very often. I need to take advantage of them.

Christmas is a special time of year, and I am loving it. The smiles, the giggles, the laughter and the constant manipulation of “Santa can see you!” and “Are you sure that would make Santa happy?”

Ahhh… gotta love it.

What we really need is a mid-summer Santa-type creature as well. I’d pay good money to bottle up the joy and fun of this season (and, yes, the manipulation as well).

When you have a kid that is cutting canines and POSSIBLY fighting off hand, foot and mouth disease; a silent night would be a thing of beauty.

My 20 month old woke up with about four ulcers in his mouth a couple of days ago. I called the doctor and he said it could be the start of hand, foot, and mouth but that since there is really nothing that can be done to “fix” it, there was no reason to come in.

No fever yet. He’s just real fussy and needy. (Even fussy for him, which is saying a lot.)

We are heading home to see my husband’s family for Thanksgiving, and my kids are much younger than their cousins, so we are not really worried about passing the little virus. We are more concerned about just surviving the midnight (and all day) screams at this point.

Oh well, this too shall pass.

Until then though, I’ll keep tossing on the homemade concoction of Benadryl and Maalox to soothe the ulcers. Although it is supposed to be about 50/50, I’ll throw in some extra Benadryl for good measure. Although the potential drowsiness side effect has not kicked in yet, I’m still hopeful.

I’ll be on the road tomorrow, so just in case I can’t check in… happy Thanksgiving my friends.

May your tummy be full of food you didn’t have to prepare yourself;

May your heart be full of love and laughter;

And may you and your family make it through the holiday without the cops having to visit even once!